Posted By RVBusiness On February 13, 2013 @ 1:16 pm In Breaking News | No Comments

Following a huge fire at a former Mishawaka, Ind., foundry on Monday (Feb. 13), people who kept vehicles inside the building for storage are beginning to assess the damage to their property, including RVs and boats.

WSBT TV, South Bend, reported that the RMG Foundry has been closed for a number of years.

Starboard Choice Marine, located on Division Street in Mishawaka, is one of about a half-dozen businesses that stored high-ticket items such as RVs, in the warehouse.

“Some of the boats were big boats with living quarters in them, some cabins, a lot of motorhomes,” said firefighter Jim Cocquyt, who also lost property in the blaze. “They all had LP tanks in them, various sizes, 30 pounds and above.”

Fire investigators believe it may have been those propane tanks exploding that people heard Monday night as firefighters battled the blaze.

Cocquyt says sections of the 200,000-plus square-foot foundry are 100-years-old, and a good portion of it is still standing.

However, one section on the south side of the building is completely wiped out, where the losses could run into the millions.

“Unfortunately, this was an occupied section, and there’s people that had a lot of valuable things. You know, mostly toys, but those can be replaced,” added Cocquyt. “That’s why we have insurance. None of the important things were really lost.”

WSBT News did hear from a woman who lost a $40,000 pontoon boat in the fire. She stores her boat through Starboard Choice Marine and says they told her they lost 121 boats in Monday’s fire.

Fire investigators expect it will take days before they can actually get into the building and start looking for an origin or a cause.